Search

Tablets

1. New Apple iPad 3 (AKA HD AKA 3rd Gen) – Apple’s new iPad is poised to be the next big thing for its “resolutionary” screen and slick specs. Forget that Apple seems to be confused on what to call it. 2. High-def (HD) Resolution Tablets – The newest iPad probably already qualifies, but look for PC tablets to be right behind in making tablet resolutions perfect for photo and video viewing. 3. Tablets w/ Built-in Stand – Expect additional features to be added to tablets. A stand would be an obvious choice, especially for those who want an expensive digital picture frame. 4. Flexible, see-through tablets – All of the futuristic movies have see-through or projection technology. Flexible tablets would mean the ability to wrap screens around cars or columns. 5. Urinal-mounted Tablets – When you’re at the big game and don’t want to miss the play, now you won’t have to. Tablets in the bathroom are surely the next big thing!

TV

6. Apple TV – The rumor of Apple releasing a high definitely TV is not surprising, given their reputation for beautiful computer monitors. 7. Social Media & App-based TV – The ability to choose which TV apps you want to correspond to particular channels would be a huge win for consumers (and a major scare to cable providers). Incorporating sharing and updates right into TV would be a natural extension to what many TV shows are already trying to get consumers to do through their mobile phones and tablets. 8. Integrated Google TV/Skype – This would assume an inclusion of a camera inside the TV, which is completely plausible. 9. Motion/Voice-controlled TV – The idea that a separate motion-sensing console like XBox Kinect is necessary will one day sound archaic. Television remotes as we know them could become a thing of the past.

Gaming

10. Social Mobile Games – Some of the most popular games like Words With Friends and Draw Something are, categorically, the beginning of this trends. In the future, phones will have the ability to host real-time gameplay between phones. 11. Social Gamification of Business – This has already been tested in a few scenarios with platforms like Salesforce. Look for business functions to adopt a competitive game-like interface to increase their KPIs. 12. Voice-Gesture Game Interfaces – Gamers already yell their heads off during high-competition showdowns. It won’t be long before game makers incorporate this natural tendency into enhancing the gameplay itself. 13. 3D Gaming Laptops – The 3D TV trend has led to the development of glasses-free 3D TVs. With this technology applied to a laptop, gameplay could get a lot more realistic.

Video

14. Instagram for Video – With the popularity of filter apps for images, it won’t be long before special effect apps become mainstream in the personal video market. 15. 3D Projectors – Imagine being able to get the same effect as 3D TV, coupled with the screen projector experience? This could keep 3D TV from being more than a fad. 16. Collaborative Cloud-based Video Editing – Video editing has always been a massive resource hog. If cloud applications with the capabilities of FinalCut or Premiere were possible, we could see a renaissance of collaborative content creation. 17. Phone/Tablet w/ Built-in Projector – Tablet and laptop screens are notoriously small and inadequate for showing a group. Mini projector functionality is planned for a few new devices and if quality isn’t compromised too terrible, this could become a big deal.

Internet

18. Enterprise-wide Cloud Computing – Companies could soon witness the disappearance of resource-hogging, expensive-licensing software applications that have been used for decades. Some smaller companies that rely heavily on Google Docs and cloud project management software are heading down this road. 19. Online Voting/Registration – This is the dream that the government hopes can become a reality. Unfortunately, pilot voting programs have proven ineffective so far at keeping hackers out, but at least progress is being made. 20. Speech-controlled Web Browsing – With so much of our web usage being for reading, watching, etc., it would be very practical (and nice on the wrists) to develop technology for us to control our computers and browsers through speech.

Mobile/Apps

21. Amazon Smartphone – Perhaps more rumor than anything, many have speculated that an Amazon Smartphone would be a fitting rival for the dominant iPhone. 22. Gesture-controlled Phones – Some phone manufacturers have hinted that buttons on phones may become a thing of the past. It’s possible that users will be given customized controls over their devices with basic motions and combinations of actions rather than pushing buttons. 23. Bendable Phones – Creating phones with the ability to ‘give’ could introduce a new line of defense against drops and impact.

Gadgets

24. Stackable USB Drives – Imagine being able to connect USB drives at will for added capacity. While not necessary for most people, this would make large file transfer much easier. 25. App-based Smart Watches – The emergence of wearable gadgets has definitely been the next big thing for some people. The incorporation of apps and fitness tracking tech into the watches that people already wear is definitely something that will be coming soon.